Welcome to Serbia, the land of Novak Djokovic! Does Nole deserve this slogan and billboard? (VIDEO)

Foto: Shutterstock

Do you think that the first billboard that welcomes foreigners who enter our country should include a photo of the most famous Serbian tennis player and the inscription: Welcome to Serbia, the land of Novak Djokovic? Do you think anything about this slogan is incorrect or exaggerated? Do you know of anything that we could be more proud of in front of the world?

When you ask the average foreigner (and about 99% of the planet is them) where or what Serbia is, the answer you get is very expected - Serbia is the country of Nikola Tesla and Novak Djokovic. Putting aside their general ignorance of the many other values ​​we have as s a people and of our history, this answer hides only one small mistake - Nikola Tesla was a Serb, but Serbia was never his homeland because he was born in Croatia and spent most of his life, which qualified him to be in that answer, in America. But this timeless genius was born, was, remained, and passed away as a thoroughbred Serb.

When it comes to the timeless genius number 2, the matter is simple and difficult to dispute - Novak Djokovic is probably (and this will be verified by history) the most significant Serb ever born on this planet. Although, I am closer to those who suspect that he may not be from this planet. But, yes, Novak is a SERB. Born in SERBIA. And he fights against that same world as a SERB. And this is where we should end this article and leave you to cast your vote in our poll, to the question from the beginning of this text. But unfortunately, there are a few more debatable little things that could persuade you to vote "no." And they're pretty tabloid-like.

Photo illustration: Telegraf/AP/Tanjug/Shutterstock

For example, following closely the Serbian tabloids, one often wonders if Novak deserves it solely for his sporting success? Is he really that important and valuable? Unlike his opponents, whose career breaks every time they see him on the other side of the net, our tabloids need Novak to constantly measure him... to constantly measure, assess and count how many millions have been lost in his career, or how bad off others have been because he was so good for the past 17 years.

If he doesn't eat meat, how much muscle mass has he lost; if he hangs out with some Spanish spiritualist, then how much emotions he has lost; if he goes to Croatia on vacation, how much Serbia's tourism has lost, because, for goodness sake, everyone knows where a real Serb goes on vacation. It's important to know that if he doesn't win a tournament how many points he has lost, but it is much more important to know how many apartments and cars an average fan of Nole could buy from the money he receives from winning at the Wimbledon.

It is irrelevant how many offers to stop being a Serb he has declined so far, because it is much more useful in tabloid terms to weigh how many millions he has earned from sponsors, how many from sponsorship contracts, how much of that went to whom in his family, and how much is left for Serbia.

It doesn't matter how many children received help from the Djokovic Foundation, because for years it has been much more important if Serbian GDP would rise to the level of Switzerland if only Srdjan's son had a New Belgrade street as his address in the ID card, instead of Monaco. Nobody thinks about changing the law, so someone like him may deserve to live in a street named after him, - but much thought is certainly being given to how much we're all losing, because Nole is not our taxpayer (which is also incorrect because the entire Djokovic family business is located in Serbia).

Photo: Youtube/Linh Mai, Tanjug/AP

Then, as a semi-final before the answer to the poll question, there's the eternal dilemma - how many votes would Nole win if he were to run in the election now? Because if you don't have a specific political rating, what right do you have to find yourself in the first three, not the last three minutes of the main news bulletin - or even on the first billboard that welcomes the Chinese and the Turks?

The latest in a sea of ​​tabloid measuring is the story of how much someone had "lost" for not investing in Nole's career in time while that talented kid had a "sick heart and bad knees" - which is tantamount to the claim of Zule Suga, the famous tough guy from Karaburma, who swore he was stronger than Bruce Lee because it was an indisputable fact he had never beaten him... neither in a fair fight, nor otherwise. And if it comes to the huge number of millions that someone so important has lost on Djokovic, what's the business of all of us ordinary Serbs? How much does Nole owe us? Where do we look for damages? Where is our cut?

Should this slogan be used if we know how meek and (media-wise) uneventful Novak's life outside of sport is? A non-starlet bore.

Photo: Profimedia/Mega Agency

Once we give it a second (tabloid) thought - judging by these paramenter, Serbia is only losing on Nole. Every time he wins we are all a little worse off. Then what does the (tabloid) Novak serve for, what do we need this successful and humble family guy for, why should precisely he be on the first billboard to welcome foreigners coming to Serbia?

It's simple: Fortunately, and with all the gains or losses, all the tabloid claptrap and gossip about Djokovic and his family, there are no parameters that can calculate how much this man has done for Serbs and Serbia in just 32 years. There is no calculation of how many Serbian kids will become better people because they had the privilege of having him as their role model. And he has become a value category that is immeasurable, incomparable and for which a "thank you" wouldn't be enough even if his image was found on all Serbian billboards.

(Aleksandar Sasa Jovanovic/Telegraf.rs)